3 things after the Summer Dallas Mavericks fall to the Summer Utah Jazz, 81-80

The Mavericks are now 0-2 in Vegas

The Dallas Mavericks got their first summer league win, beating the Jazz 80-76. Robert Franks led the Mavericks with 17 points! I don’t remember many of these points, but he did it.

Dallas couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn to open the game, getting down 0-10 early. After playing way too fast for half the quarter, the Mavericks settled and whittled away at the Jazz lead. They also tightened up their defense enough to stop the flood of points from Utah. Nate Hinton had a nice and-one drive to help close the lead, Feron Hunt finished a nifty spin move, and EJ Onu dunked a great alley-oop pass during the closing run. Carlik Jones scored a last second lay up to bring Dallas within one to end the frame. Utah led after one, 18-17.

Hunt converted a dunk to give Dallas an early lead to open the second, but Utah answered right back. After failing to make a basket for several minutes, Eugene Omoruyi scored on a nifty move in the lane to tie things at 24 all. The two teams traded baskets for a few possessions before Dallas retook the lead on a Tyrell Terry layup after an open court Jazz turnover. The Mavericks extended the lead on a Terry three off a nice play and pass from Hinton. Dallas continued to press their advantage on offense and took a 38-33 lead into the half.

After Dallas got up by eight points early, the Utah Jazz worked all the way back to take the lead through relentlessly attacking the basket. Utah went on a 26-16 run to close the quarter. I had to miss the fourth quarter, but the Mavericks rallied back after starting the period down 59-56, lose 81-80 in double overtime. I had to leave the game and missed the wild ending. It ended on a free throw in sudden death.

Yes, I initially posted that they won because my internet wasn’t working in my car and the box score said the game was over at 80-76. Whoops. Sorry about that. Like the Summer League Mavericks, I am not great.

Now, some things

Summer League is not kind to big men

It’s hard to say what kind of play EJ Onu could be, as bigs take longer to develop. But his Dallas teammates make it even harder to judge his game when they either won’t or don’t pass him the ball in obvious situations. In the first half alone, I recorded two bad passes and two look offs when he was open. It’s just annoying to watch as he’s one of the few players on this roster that has an NBA attribute (in this case his size/wingspan). It would be nice to see his skill level on offense.

Tyrell Terry’s NBA position might be different than his one in Vegas

With his slight size and average burst, it leads me to believe Terry’s role in the NBA is one of an off ball shooter that attacks off the dribble after rotations. Though he can dribble just fine, he’s used more as a play initiator in Vegas than he likely ever will in a NBA role. He and Nate Hinton shared the ball handling duties with the starting unit, likely just to mix things up and because teams play off Hinton with his suspect jumper.

In game interviews provide some real insight

Here’s a podcast we recorded pre-game with two staff members at Summer League. They may record another episode tomorrow. Again, here’s the direct link if you’d like to hear the show directly or go to your favorite podcast player and search Mavs Moneyball.